FoodFirst Floriade Conference: The Business of Food & Nutrition Security

Malnutrition undermines economic growth. Today, one billion people are underdeveloped due to famine and another one billion suffer from micronutrient deficiency like vitamins and minerals.

Malnutrition adversibly and irreversibly affects the development of children, leading to a disadvantaged generation. Investing in food quality is investing in human capital and therefore one of the most cost-effective ways of helping countries’ economic growth (Copenhagen Consensus, 2008). Companies and scientists in the field of micronutrients are developing promising innovations such as food fortification. TheNetherlands in particular, with its world-leading food sector, has the expertise to tackle malnutrition successfully, often through joint initiatives with local partners in developing countries.

At this fifth FoodFirst conference (inter)national key players in the field of food and nutrition security share their expertise, experiences and views on the missing link between available expertise and innovations. How can businesses, policy makers, civil society organizations, and scientists work together to foster food and nutrient security and reach the billions of people who lack access to sufficient food or food of good quality?

Programme

Moderator of the day is Mr Paulus Verschuren, special advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and expert in the field of nutrition security. Jay Naidoo, Chairperson of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) will kick off the conference by highlighting the current global challenges of food and nutrition security, and by sharing the experiences of GAIN with new cooperation models. Minister for Development Cooperation Ben Knapen will illustrate the Dutch policies, aimed at collaboration between government, companies and local actors to combat malnutrition. Insights from the grassroots level will be given by Sriparna Chaudhuri (The Hunger Project India, tbc), while Atzo Nicolaï, president of DSM the Netherlands, presents new technologies and innovation from a business perspective. Wim Naudé, Acting Dean Director of Maastricht School of Management will critically analyse the discussion and bring forward the point of actions.

And at the end of the afternoon, the winning group of the NCDO’sBattleof The Cheetahs, Too Good To Waste, will tickle your senses with a small recycled treat….

Practicalities

The inspiring location for this event is the Floriade in Venlo. Guests to the conference can visit the Floriade free of charge that day. For an impression of the previous FoodFirst-Floriade conference, take a look at the pictures at http://www.foodfirst.eu/galleries.php